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Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

One of our favorite local spots for fried catfish on Friday is Pleasant's BBQ, a family owned place that's been around for years and where they serve some pretty rocking BBQ but the special on Friday is always fried catfish. I am convinced he uses some of his rub in the coating, so I've tried it and indeed, it rocks! Aunt Jenny's also in Ocean Springs, and also family owned, where not only is the food delicious but it comes served in the midst of some gorgeous and very old oak trees and a simply beautiful view across the bayou off of Biloxi Bay has excellent catfish. In Gulfport, Catfish Charlie's is also family owned, excellent and has been around forever. All delicious options!

Did you know that 75% of the world's supply of farm-raised catfish comes from right here in my home state of Mississippi, making us first in total U.S. catfish production? Humphreys-Belzoni, Mississippi claims the title of Catfish Capital of the World, has 117 catfish farms and more than 35,000 acres of farm-raised catfish, making it more than any other single county in all of the United States. In fact, Humphreys-Belzoni, hosts a huge World Catfish Festival every April, drawing crowds upwards of 20,000 to the Delta.

Now for me, my fried shrimp is coated in flour. Self-rising flour. Period. My fried oysters are coated only in corn meal. Yellow corn meal. Period. But my catfish is coated in a mixture of the two, mostly cornmeal, a little flour. That's the rules and the only way to eat any of the above three at least for me. This is not to say that my way is the right, or the only way. It's just my way!

When I fry catfish like this, I also prefer to cook the catfish in smaller strips rather than cooking them as large whole fillets, like I would cook when I pan fry. What that involves is that if you had a whole catfish and you filleted that into two halves, I would split those halves into multiple strips, cutting along the natural "seams" of the filet. I love the way the smaller pieces curl up in the fryer - to me, that's fried catfish!

The best way to cook fried catfish, in my opinion, is to deep fry them, whether that's in a large pot filled with oil on the stove, or a deep fryer. It cooks the catfish fast, and keeps them nice and crispy, the way that they are intended to be eaten. I've mentioned before, I do not do greasy, and that is why I love using a deep fryer. I upgraded my fryer to a TFal fryer which has an easy draining feature and a built-in oil storage that can be removed and refrigerated between frying. Since we don't use our fryer that often, I really love this feature!

Check out more of my favorite fish recipes on Pinterest!

If you make this or any of my recipes, I'd love to see your results! Just snap a photo and hashtag it #DeepSouthDish on social media or tag me @deepsouthdish on Instagram!

Rinse the fillets. Cut into three to four strips lengthwise. Season fish on both sides with salt, peppers, Cajun seasoning and Old Bay, pressing lightly into fish. Preheat fryer to 375 degrees F and let the fillets rest while the fryer heats up.

Whisk the flour and cornmeal together in a large bowl until well blended. Dip the catfish fillets in the mixture until well coated, shake off any excess and set aside. Once the oil is heated up, pass fillets through the cornmeal again, shake off and drop into the fryer with the basket lowered. Fry only a few at a time so as not to overcrowd and bring down the temperature of the oil.

Fry until fish floats and is golden brown, about 4 to 6 minutes, depending on size. Drain on several layers of paper towels before transferring to a platter or individual plates. For hushpuppies, add enough buttermilk or milk to the dredging cornmeal to form a thick batter and drop by spoonfuls into the hot oil until browned and cooked through.

Serve with hushpuppies and tartar sauce, offering hot sauce at the table for sprinkling on the fillets. Great with cheese grits and homestyle tomato gravy, greens and coleslaw.

Cook's Notes: I also use this dredge for other fish fillets such as white and speckled trout, mullet, tilapia, crappie and flounder. You may substitute cornmeal mix if you prefer, however it does already contain salt, leavening and flour, so omit the self rising flour and reduce the salt you would use with all purpose cornmeal. I recommend White Lily Buttermilk Cornmeal Mix. May also use a deep, heavy bottomed pot, or large iron skillet, and enough vegetable or canola oil to fully cover the fillets.

Variation: Make a mixture of Creole mustard and yellow mustard, about 1/4 cup total. Beat an egg with just a splash of milk and stir into the mustard. Brush both sides of the catfish with the mustard before dredging in the flour/cornmeal mixture and frying.

Buttermilk Brined Fried Catfish: Instead of rinsing fish, add 1-1/2 cups buttermilk to a bowl along with 2 tablespoons of hot sauce. Soak fish in buttermilk for 30 minutes, and before dredging, allow excess buttermilk to drip off of each fillet. Proceed as above.

Oven Fried: Prepare as above and place fish, skin side down, on a foil lined pan drizzled with butter or cooking oil. Drizzle additional oil or use a cooking spray to generously coat fish on top. Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven until golden brown, approximately 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the thickness of fillets.

Air Fryer: Please note that brands of air fryers differ in wattage. You may need to adjust times accordingly. These were cooked in a 1700 watt fryer. A lower wattage fryer may need a higher temp and additional time. Prepare as above, in batches as needed, spraying breaded fish on both sides with oil. Place fish on rack or basket that has also been sprayed with oil. Fry at 370 degrees F for 10 minutes, turning halfway.

Tip: Frozen catfish often has a muddy flavor to it. You may be able to counter that by purchasing only catfish from the U.S., removing any fat and/or "dark meat" that is present on the fillets and soaking them for 30 minutes at room temperature in a salt water or buttermilk brine. For 1 quart of water or buttermilk, use 1 tablespoon of salt.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

This is very similar to my Grandma's recipe, but she always brushed on a little yellow mustard on the pieces before coating. Just a little thin coating, mind you, & this added great flavor and helped the coating stick :)

I'm so glad Tammy! I really love it - well, you probably already knew that. It's got a nice blend of all the seasoning and a fairly subtle kick. I love using it much better than plain cayenne which can be a bit overpowering. So glad you found some!!

I'm glad you mentioned about the dark meat/fat which has that muddy flavor. A lot of restaurants here in Chattanooga don't remove it. Also cutting out the mud vein makes a huge difference in taste too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvpCpGvwR3A

Those little strips of tender goodness are called goujonettes. I absolutely LOVE catfish and, like you, want it prepared with a specific coating, and this one is perfect.

I also want to mention that reading your recipes is much more than simply "reading a recipe". Your recollections of how some recipes came to be, or in this case the description of various restaurants and their surroundings makes this seem more like a visit with a friend rather than an electronic page with words on it. Thank you. :)

You mentioned some mighty fine catfish places Mary, but the best by far in my experience has got to be Stogner's Fish Camp in Tylertown, Mississippi. Worth the drive no matter where you're driving from!

Thank you Rachel! I'm certainly no expert, but I've sure enjoyed sharing my cooking trials! I did publish a cookbook recently. You can find it at bookstores and online at Amazon here. I hope you enjoy it!!

Ok, my neighbor gave some what she calls catfish nuggets. I have never heard the word nuggets used with catfish. I just heard of fillets and whole catfish. So what I think I will do is this. Season with the Cajun spice, kosher salt, etc, brush with the creole-style mustard, then coat with the bbq rub-flavored flour mixture. How does that sound to you? Or, do I have too many flavors going on at once? Thanx for your reply

Sounds delicious to me! Just remember depending on what is in the rub you use, you may want to go a little lighter with the seasonings. Some folks like having the nuggets since they're kinda bite sized. It's just a fillet that's been cut into chunks really.

I had catfish before from a black family in Houston that said they used a mixture of cornmeal and sweet cornbread mix for the coating, and it was by far the best catfish I have EVER eaten. Mind you, I had a full blooded Cajun grandmother that was a premo cook too. I just wish I had the recipe for it...I can't find a recipe like it online though.

Thanks for taking the time to comment - I love hearing from readers and I read every single comment and try to respond to them right here on the site, so stop back by!

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You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients. ~Julia Child

The classic southern plate for supper is made up of meat and three, cornbread or rolls & a tall glass of sweet iced tea.

Oftentimes what makes a recipe southern, is as much a state of mind as it is a matter of geography - Southerners simply decide a particular food is southern, and that's that." ~Rick McDaniel, Food Historian

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